Krallice Surprised Everyone with a New Album this Morning

Some surprises are great. An unexpected annual bonus. A free download quest in your favorite video game. A discount on beef at your supermarket. Some surprises are terrible. The sticker at the bottom of the Cracker Jack box. Twins. Christmas morning. Ygg huur, the new surprise album dropped by black metal maze builders Krallice is distinctly in the former camp. Stream it in full below.

Ygg huur is quite the surprise. The band, known for constructing some of the densest, most brain-blending technical black metal wizardry around, made practically no fanfare over the release. When I first checked the internet to see if anyone else had even previewed the album or written about its imminent release, I was unable to find any information. It seems that McMaster, Weinstein, Marston, and Barr actually recorded it earlier this month and were content to simply catch us all in our pyjamas. Cheeky bastards.

I’ve only listened to a little bit of the album thus far, but I’m impressed by what I’ve heard. The precise, Daedalus song structures are present in full Cyclopean effect. Bewildering riffs and leads snake in and out of inhuman rhythmic passages like hydra heads, multiplying and devouring all in sight. The vocals are urgent but never overbearing, instead ceding precedent to the music and allowing the biomechanical constructs to breathe and bloom. The production is quiet too, allowing every little flourish, every off-kilter bass note to lodge itself into your synapses. Perhaps most interesting, though, is that this album feels more accessible than Years Past Matter while remaining uniquely challenging in the way only Krallice can be. “Over Spirit” and “Tyranny of Thought” are easily two of the best songs the band has ever written. Color me impressed.

You can purchase the album digitally right now or pre-order a CD if you like physical media. Stream the album again on Bandcamp and read about the silent release on Facebook.